(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc apparatus for recording and reproducing data on and from an optical disc, and particularly to a technique to improve the resistance to an impact exerted when a tray, on which an optical disc is mountable, is accommodated in a housing.
(2) Description of the Related Art
A typical optical disc apparatus used in an electronic apparatus has a tray that is held such that the tray is movable into and out of a main body, or a housing, of the optical disc apparatus. To load an optical disc, an optical disc is put or mounted on the tray while the tray is outside the housing, and the tray is moved back into the housing. In a thin optical disc apparatus, a mechanism called “unit mecha assembly” (hereinafter referred to as “mechanical unit”) is attached on the tray and moved integrally therewith. The mechanical unit includes a spindle motor for rotating an optical disc, and an optical pickup movable in a radial direction of the optical disc and capable of recording and reproducing data on and from the optical disc by emitting a laser beam.
When used in a small-sized electronic apparatus, e.g., laptop computer, the optical disc apparatus is reduced in its thickness, and its weight is also required to be reduced. Hence, as materials forming the optical disc apparatus, plate-like materials with a small thickness are employed. This makes the housing (chassis) and the tray apt to bend or warp upon reception of an impact from the exterior. When the force of the impact is great, the housing and the tray accommodated in the housing may hit each other, or the smoothness in the movement of the tray into and out of the housing may be impaired.
As related art, JP-A No. 2002-279717 discloses a structure to prevent the tray from deforming to be convex downward. That is, the tray has a contact portion in the form of a rib downward protruding from a bottom plate of the tray, and the chassis has a receiving portion that supports the contact portion of the tray from the under side.